Virginia man shoots girlfriend, her protective dog during argument

A Virginia man is in jail after he shot his girlfriend in the foot and her protective dog in the paw during a dispute on Easter Sunday.

WTKR on Thursday reported that the woman's Jack Russell terrier had tried to intervene in an argument between her and her two sons at their their trailer in Suffolk.

"The information police received was that the dog was very protective of the mother, and the dog felt the mother was being threatened, and it bit the child," City of Suffolk spokesperson Debbie George told the station.

That's when Albert Etz Jr. went to the bedroom to retrieve a handgun and fired two shots in the hallway of the trailer, hitting the girlfriend in the foot. Her dog was shot in the paw.

Suffolk police charged Etz with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

"That’s because of the the danger that he put everyone in when he chose to retrieve that handgun then fire it within a home, and within a very confined space of that hallway," George explained.

The victim refused to speak on camera, but told WTKR that the whole thing was an accident. Police said that they believed Etz only intended to shoot the dog, not his girlfriend.

Both the girlfriend and the dog were treated and are expected to recover.

Watch this video from WTRK, broadcast April 4, 2013.